Merry Christmas

Are you allowing yourself to slow down and enjoy this Christmas?  I heard a great statement: God makes a promise, Faith believes His promise, Hope anticipates its fulfillment, and Patience quietly waits.  But many times it seems it is learned from going through a storm.

What a year this has been for so many of us going through struggles, breakdowns, chaos, and yet discovering God’s heart to bring His presence into those difficult moments.

We love Peter’s story.  Imagine caught out in a vicious storm, thinking this might be it, and Jesus shows up.  Peter says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”  Jesus says, “Peter, Come!”  Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came forward to Jesus.

Erwin McManus says, this act is an act of transformation, where our character is more a revolution than reformation.  Our character is forged from battles fought.  It emerges out of crisis, not out of classroom.  But it doesn’t just come to you; you must run to it.  It is like a gauntlet waiting to be conquered.  Character is like a hero asleep within you waiting to be awakened.  Its power sweeps through you in waves of transformation.  And with each challenge faced, with each victory won, suddenly the realization hits you that you are becoming a different person than one who began this journey.

Peter saw the wind, gripped by fear, and began to sink.  But we can’t miss the fact that he stepped into the storm and walked on the water!

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  I believe Jesus and Peter walked back to the boat holding hands.

A couple days ago Carol and I were talking with our daughter who is gripped with fear by her cancer returning.  As we prayed together, the Holy Spirit took us to 1Jn.4:18 which says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  We were reminded that in the middle of a storm, the wind is blowing, here comes Jesus calling us to step out of the boat of fear into Perfect Love.  A love that sets you up for a miracle.

I pray that this season set you up for the most prosperous year ever.

May the love of the Father, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit saturate every moment of your life. 

 

Embracing Growth

 Challenges and suffering often thrust us into a new season of uncertainty and grief, where we face trials, we could never imagine.  It’s easy to miss the moment by not realizing we are being marked, which can become a turning point in our lives.  The question is, how do you embrace the moment and grow in spite of the pain?

I’m confronted each day with James 1.  “When these trials and tribulations crowd into your life my friends, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends.  Because they come to build strength, maturity, character, and patience…..”

Love what Jim Murphy says, “Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character is the basis for the hope needed to see through the pain of the temporary circumstances to the glory of the future that awaits us.”

So then, how do we embrace the pain?

I’m slowly learning that when I embrace suffering, I can transcend my circumstance. It’s possible to no longer be shackled to what’s happening.  The process begins to liberate me from my mind and body and all that is associated with the ups and downs.  

Embracing our ups and downs helps us see further from a new angle, with more meaning and clarity.  

I heard someone say, “It may be only with eyes rinsed with tears that we can truly see who we are, and what we are learning, and becoming.”

Apolo Ohno, an Olympic Champion speed skater was asked his secret for winning, and he said, “I’m willing to do what nobody else is willing to do.”

May we break down the barriers to learning from our suffering!

Blessings to You today!

Any Hope for Today?

 Good Morning,

Lee Camp in his book on Christianity and Politics said: “The faith of the Christian is the last great hope of earth.”

That claim may raise the eyebrows of people who think that ‘progress’, economic growth, nuclear power, nuclear disarmament, population reduction, social justice, socialism, diplomacy, open borders, religious revival, religious decline or technology will be the saviour for humanity’s problems.  Yet we believe with prophetic fervour and patient endurance that God alone is the world’s Redeemer and thus redemption comes to us in Jesus and by renewal in the Holy Spirit.  This doesn’t mean we abandon the world, or leave everything to God.  No, this calls us to action because if there’s to be a day when ‘God May be all in all’, then our energies are quickened, not stifled, so that the emerging task is to get busy in the business of the kingdom: ‘always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.’

NT Wright

We all face huge difficulties whether that be at home, work or the state we live in.  As I go out each day to bring Hope, Restoration, Peace and Healing; I have a prayer I pray trusting the Holy Spirit to empower me: “Father, catch me up, what’s in your heart today, tell me again who I am, help me see what’s behind the chaos, in Jesus’ Name.”

Love You!

BEFORE YOU BELIEVED IN JESUS, HE BELIEVED IN YOU!

 I remember years ago watching the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo. Dante`s is betrayed by his best friend and unjustly placed in prison.  He falls into an unlikely friendship with a priest, Abbe` Faria.  Dante`s is drawn to the priest but turned off by his faith in Jesus.  My favorite scene is in Faria’s dying breath, Dante`s says, “I Don’t believe in God!”  Then the priest replies, “It doesn’t matter.  He believes in You!”

Reminds me of Brennan Manning saying to Carol, “Father is very fond of You!  His gaze is always upon You!”

John Mark says, “Jesus believes in You!”  He believes you can come under the loving hand of the Father.  Loving and joyful and full of peace, patience, and kindness.  You can grow into a person of happiness, even in times of suffering.  The kind of person who is not afraid of suffering or even death, who is free of the emotional need for things to go your way.  You can fulfill your purpose.  You can learn to do many of the incredible things Jesus did.  To see signs of His kingdom manifest in your ordinary life.

May Jesus shine brightly through You today!

I Will Not Allow Chaos Control Me!

 Good Morning My Favorite Gifted People,

Years ago I read the book called, Chaos Can’t.  Here we are right in the midst of Thanksgiving.  How do we respond to the chaos of this year?

Must remember we have the imagination of our Creator Father flowing through us.  Because of His Love, our belief in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes in as a Rushing Wind and Consuming Fire of Freedom, igniting our hearts to dream spacious expansive possibilities!

God’s Presence empowers our creativity to reshape chaos.  As Sons and Daughters we are invited to co-create with Him in this uncomfortable year of chaos.  Why?  Chaos Can’t rob  steal and destroy our future.

That Reality gives this Thanksgiving Purpose and Pleasure.  With a fresh start within us, we become agents to bring relief from chaos.  A Hope for the Future.  A New Beginning.  Turning disorder to order.  Thank You Father for Ruling and Reigning in and through Us as Partners in Crime!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't Let Darkness Consume You

 Being alone in the dark can be the most terrifying moment in a child’s life.  I remember lying in bed at age 4, paralyzed by the dark.  I cried out for my father, and he comes running into my room.  There’s only 2 things he can do to calm my emotions: turn on the light or stay the rest of the night with me.

I think children are more perceptive than adults.  As adults we pretend to be ok and ignore the darkness until it consumes us.  If we ignore the darkness, it consumes us and takes us to a place many times of making horrible decisions.  Possibly the darkness is fear, greed, despair, or bitterness.  

David yields to the darkness of battle fatigued and sends his soldiers off to battle without him.  Then he finds himself all alone, consumed by the darkness of lust, and then faces the consequences of the worst decision of his life.

One of the great lies is that darkness tells us that we are alone.  Convinces us that there is no one else who has ever been there.  

Jesus was not exempt from loneliness, experiencing the dark night of His soul. We can draw from His example.  Not wanting to be alone in the Garden, He asks 3 of His best friends to be with Him and pray.  In breathtaking vulnerability, He says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Ever wonder what could happen to cause you to lose your light?  It’s not usually because of failure.  Could it be the deep wounds of betrayal, rejection or unexpected abandonment?  

Darkness finds a way to steal our light.  Life is not meant to be lived alone.  Refuse to run from people you need in your life.  Guard you Heart and respond to hate with love, betrayal with forgiveness, despair with hope, and darkness with light. 

Don't Miss Divine Moments

 Over the years I’ve loved the adventures of the unknown.  To Miss the possibility of an ordinary moment becoming a divine moment haunts me.

I hear people say all the time, “I wish I had done that!  If I could have only chosen differently.”

Years ago I taught my youth group, “Anytime You Neglect the Present Moment, You get Passed By, and then Drown in Personal Regret!”

So today let’s Refuse To Stay Behind!  Never Opt Out of an Opportunity!  Why?  You are Moving toward Your Dreams, Your Purpose, and Your Passions!

Decide today: I will Not Allow Myself to be Paralyzed in the moment of indecision!

Know What You Are About!  Know What Your Life Is Given To!  Know What Matters To You And Move Forward!

Bless You Today With The Power Of Our Loving God!

Great Awakening

As I read this by Philip Yancey I thought; this is so many of our stories.  I discovered early in my adult life that the God I was taught, didn't exist.  But meeting Father God through Jesus not only changed my life, but called me to chase Him every day knowing I'm not loved because of my behavior, but because of His affection toward me.  Paul

What do you think?

 In churches of my youth, we sang about God’s grace and yet I seldom felt it.  I saw God as a stern taskmaster, eager to condemn and punish.  I have come to know instead a God of love and beauty who longs for our wholeness.  I assumed that surrender to God would involve a kind of shrinking - avoiding temptation, grimly focusing on the “spiritual” things while I prepared for the afterlife.  On the contrary, God’s good world presented itself as a gift to enjoy with grace- healed eyes.

Philip Yancey

Good Morning Lovers

 I was told recently that I’m leaving a Legacy here on earth.  I responded by saying, That’s Our Family!   I could never do that alone!  We’re Doing that Individually and Together.  We are Stretched Out All Over the Place!  It’s not that we agree on everything, but there’s a catalyst that empowers us.

In this day that we celebrate our freedom, that ingredient is the outrageous Love that God has embraced us with.  He has filled us, where it spills out as we live out the tasks of each day.  It’s a Love that looks beyond opinion and finds truth in the most unlikely places.

In reading and rereading 1 Cor. 13, this Love doesn’t allow us to be small by focusing our lives through the lens of self or a few people who agree with us.  This Love captures us, and grabs ahold of us.  It enlightens the eyes of our understanding where us are given the chance to find Truth from not only common sources, but most unlikely places of inspiration, wonder and awe.  

Yes!  Many  times it’s challenging and uncomfortable!  But this Love doesn’t allow itself to be stuck.  It pushes us to discover this Huge Loving God.  At this point in my life, I’m thrilled that He never allows  me to be narrow and small minded.

In the end, this Love is so convincing that nothing….. nothing can separate us as a Family from creating and bringing change to people who are stuck in smallness.  We are rooted and established in a Love that surpasses all knowledge, and fills Us with the Fullness of God through Jesus!

Might be asking, How wide, long, high and deep is this extravagant Love?  

Just follow each of us individually or collectively and you’ll find us being led by the Holy Spirit where Truth is calling us, waiting to empower us, to establish the beauty of the Legacy of the Kingdom come to Earth as it is in Heaven.

Blessings Upon You Today

What If!?

 Growing up I thought my life was one of ease, a life of self in which I tried to control everything, and a life spent living out the moment.  As I grew up…..So much changed!  As a friend of mine once said, "How's that working for you?"

I had to embrace difficulty, care for others and surrender to a greater cause, and learn the life of the eternal instead of the temporary.  I was searching, hoping that one day someone would call me to an adventure worth dying for.  I wasn't searching for God to take me to heaven, but hopes that there was more to this life, than just existing.  I was looking for someone I could follow.  It wasn't until I found Jesus at age 25 that I found the One I wanted to be like.

In becoming more like Jesus.. the Shift from who I thought I was became much more dramatic than one could imagine.  What If!?  Is that possible!?

Jon Tyson explains so well: Jesus left the ease of Heaven to embrace the difficulty of earth and of the cross; Jesus humbled and emptied himself, and he lived for others, not just himself; Jesus moved into a life of obscurity for us; Jesus surrendered, not trying to remain in control of his situation; and Jesus lived for eternal rewards, not a temporary reality.

Wow!  As Mary said, “May it be done unto me!”  

Father, empower me today to surrender to Your Will, Discipline Grace and Joy of Living fully Alive!  Amen.

The Genius of Grace

If God, who has every right to find us guilty, refuses to do so, how can we not forgive one another?  If God, who sees everything we’ve ever done and could easily drown us in our guilt and shame, seeks only to make us whole and give us freedom, how can that not be our intention toward one another?

Even in our current environment, we have what is now known as “cancel culture.”  We ransack the history of every tweet a person has ever written, every statement a public personality has ever made, any joke a comedian has ever delivered, or any mistake a person has ever made in the past, looking for ammunition to end their careers.  We do not allow for change, or growth, or simply the imperfection of being human.

Condemning is easy.  It’s also ugly and inelegant.  Grace makes both the giver and the recipient more beautiful…. Grace believes in your future.

Erwin McManus

The Resurrection and Justice

 When Jesus rose from the dead, he came as the first installment of the power of God, which will renew the world at the end of history.  The Bible tells us that, at that time, God will not just save individuals and discard the world as if were an unimportant shell or chaff.  Rather, "the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God" (Ro. 8:21).  All the effects of sin - all the decay - of the world will be healed.  Not only will there be physical liberation from disease, aging, and death, but there will be social liberation from the poverty, war, racism, and crime that infest our world now, as well as psychological liberation from the fear, guilt, shame, and despair that infect us now.  All things will finally be mended, put fully right.  We ourselves will be made new, but we will also receive a renewed world in which to live with Christ in our resurrected bodies......  In the new creation we will know Jesus, the infinite fountain of love.  We will love one another for his sake  and for their sake.  All relationships, then, will finally be right and just.  So 2 Pet. 3:13 says, "But God has promised us a new heavens and earth where justice will rule."

So, the resurrection means that the liberating, repairing power of God is here now, through the risen Christ and His presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.  We have not been saved just to be safe, but saved in order to serve.

NT Wright says, Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence, and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things - and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all.  Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems of the material world.  Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish fulfillment.  Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps.  

But if Easter happened, it is the secular theories of Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche that will eventually find themselves in the ashbin of history.

Tim Keller

Beautiful Paradox of Jesus’ Great Reversal

 He was sold, to buy us back; captive to deliver us; condemned to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by Him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal  despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal.  In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune.

 John Calvin

GIVE 'EM HELL!

 I remember sitting in the shower room when my coach in his pep talk ended with, “Give ‘Em Hell!”  We ran out pumped up ready to defeat the enemy!

At 25, I was called to reach young people across America to help them discover freedom and eternal life through becoming a follower of Jesus.

At that time I realized I better get to know the One who called me through His Word.  I quickly learned that I was given a gift called Faith.  When I used it to believe in Jesus, I stepped into a whole new dimension of existence.  My present was altered by the Spirit of Jesus coming in with power and understanding to create a new reality.  I was no longer alone, dirty and sinful.  Instead, I was loved, forgiven and made a container to bring the message of hope.  

We all have the possibility to tap the source who created us by faith, to not only bring good out of present struggles, but to be captured by His Story of creating new life and living forever.  

So transformation begins today and will intensify even greater when Jesus physically joins us to restore and recreate all things lost and destroyed.

I had an old man shout at me one time as I was running out on stage, “Paul, Give them Heaven!”

I understood!

Beautiful Resistance

 Jon Tyson asks the question, How would things change if you resolved to rebel against your own indifference and embody the things you long to see in the world?  If you resolve that you would pursue beauty and resist brokenness?  That you would resist idolatry with worship, exhaustion with rest , apathy with hunger, fear with hospitality, contempt with honor, hate with love, privilege with sacrifice, and cynicism with celebration?  If your life became a parable of what happens when someone lives with integrity and in a community no matter the cost?

God is looking for a people to live this way, in spite of the hopelessness around them.  Those He can use to inspire others, those who pursue His pleasure in a culture of compromise.  

Will you respond to that call?

"Imagine" by Kevin Wheeler

 Imagine you were born in 1900.

When you're 14

World War I begins

and ends at 18 years old

with 22 million dead.

Shortly after, a global pandemic

Flu called 'Spanish' ",

kills 50 million people.

You come out alive and free

You are 20 years old.

Then, at 29, you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing Inflation, Unemployment, and Hunger.

At 33, the nazis come to power.

You turn 39 when World War II starts and ends at 45 During the Holocaust (Holocaust), 6 million Jews die.

There will be over 60 million deaths in total.

When you're 52, the Korean War begins.

At age 64, the Vietnam War begins and ends at age 75

A boy born in 1985 thinks his grandparents have no idea how difficult life is, but they have survived several wars and disasters.

A boy born in 1995 and now 25 years old thinks it's the end of the world when his Amazon package takes over three days to arrive or when he doesn't get more than 15 likes for her photo posted on Facebook or Instagram. ....

In 2020, many of us live comfortably, have access to different sources of home entertainment, and often have more than we need.

But people complain about everything.

However, they have electricity, phone, food, hot water, and a roof over their heads.

None of this existed before.

But mankind survived far more disastrous circumstances and never lost the joy of living.

Maybe it's time to be less self-escaped, stop complaining, and stop crying.

The Social Dilemma

 OK, whose seen, The Social Dilemma on Netflix?  This is only on Netflix. 

 I encourage everyone who cares at all about the current realities we face as faith driven, thoughtful committed people, to make every effort to watch this. 

I am deeply troubled after watching this with Carol, especially as a minister, but also as a human, by what we're seeing happening in the world today. 

Please take a look at this - watch it all the way thru - please.

I remember when the fight was about Absolute Truth.  Now Truth seems to be dependent upon geographic location along with their particular frame of reference. 

God Shows Up in Suffering

In December Carol and I will be married for 55 years.  From the beginning Carol has always known how to pray and most of all hear the wisdom God has for the moment. 

One of the first times I truly heard God was in a dream at 25.  Carol had the same dream that night.  I’ve always been so thankful how she willingly seeks our Creator for His plan and purpose for our lives.

She loves going on prayer walks most everyday.  I can hardly wait for her return to hear what she has heard from God.  It is always inspiring and divine.

So the latest walk tops them all.  It happened in the midst of this Quarantine, Pain, Suffering, Riots, and Violence.  

She sets out for her prayer walk Sunday morning.   Walking she prays from Matt. 6:26 and following; “But God how could You allow so much pain and suffering when You said not to worry.  You tell me we are much more valuable than the birds.  That they do not sow, reap or store away in barns, and yet You feed them.   Then You say, worrying can’t add a single hour to my life?”   

Ten minutes into her walk, she looks up at a very tall street light with a bird sitting on it.  Suddenly the bird falls to the ground and hits so hard she hears a thud.  She walks over where the bird is lying on it’s side, and it looks dead.  Carol says, “God, what is this all about? That’s not suppose to happen when I’m reminding You of what You said.”  

She gets no response and continues to walk 45 more minutes, returning to the scene of the fallen bird.  It is still lying there.  She stops and stares at the bird when suddenly it flutters and flies away.  

Then God speaks to her with such emotion addressing her struggles with our own lives through this crisis.  He says, “Carol, there’s Life after a blow!  There’s Life after a Death!”  Her mind is then filled with the reality that this life is temporary, but yet it counts. 

We tend to grieve over how things used to be, or memories of what we called normal.  But God has so much more ahead for us.  There is Life after Death.  

Can you imagine God saying to you during this time, “Seek My Kingdom above all else, live righteously and I will give you everything you need!  This is not a suggestion, but a command.  I divided time into days, nights and seasons so you can have manageable portions of life to handle.”

Be blessed today!  God has a planned future for you filled with Hope!

Paul

Pick a Fight!

The first time I heard someone speak from the story of Jonathan with his Armor Bearer in 1Sam. 14, was my first experience hearing Erwin McManus.  Jonathan says to his Armor Bearer hiding at bottom of a hill of a Philistine Garrison, Let’s go up and pick a fight and Maybe God will be with us!  

It’s a rare story in the Bible about Picking a Fight.  But I’m glad it’s there because there are times to Pick a Fight.

I see people across this country exhausted from isolation without sufficient income let alone with pent up energy of wanting to get back to work!

Watching people willing to risk being jailed, fined, criticized or labeled a rebel is everywhere.  Goes along with our Son’s latest book; “Beautiful Rebellion” where students are saying, “Enough!  I’m only willing to live a life worth dying for!  The life I see in normal people can’t be it!  I’m going to Pick a Fight and Create Change in this Culture!  Maybe God will be With Me!” 

In 1969 God gave us a dream to reach the high school students of America.  Quite our business and started the band thinking, Maybe God will be With Us!  We would sing in 4 to 5 high school assemblies free a day violating every Christian norm thinking Maybe God will be With Us.  Hundreds of students coming to Jesus many days through the 70’s.

By the end of the 70’s we were offered the Job of Entertainment Director at Disney World, but instead, let’s be a Youth Pastor; Maybe God will be With Us!  Carol started a Youth Choir of 75 kids.  Booked tours up and down the east coast during their summer break.  But these students weren’t normal Christians raised in the church.  Bad hair, Bad clothes, with No understanding of Christian behavior or language.  Maybe God will be with Us!  Their first song, many old timers stood up and walked out because they didn’t sound the part or look the part.  Betrayal can stop some, but not these kids.  Let’s keep going!  Maybe God will be With Us!  We switched to singing in Inner City Churches.  Those poor people stood on their feet on the first song, and they are clapping, smiling and finding Jesus.  We finished the concert with hugs, kisses, and people renewed in their faith, not wanting to leave.  Why?  God was With Us!

As Youth Pastors, after a few years we experienced betrayal along with the senior pastor destroying the church.  Through the chaos, we were asked to move into the senior pastor position which scared us to death.  We felt God saying, Come On!  Let’s Pick a Fight.  I’ll Be With You!  Ok!

 Could it be that wounds get too deep and the feeling like I can’t take one more blow, not one more betrayal, not one more time?  Have decisions been made causing your passion to feel minimized, beat up, and criticized leaving you all alone?  The Gospel is very simple but very serious, and it must be embraced with your heart.  Once you do, the warmth of God’s embrace will heal, energize you with renewed passion to empower you to pick a fight.

Let’s go to the outcome of Jonathan and his Armor Bearer.  They went up to the Uncircumcised Philistine Garrison and killed all 20 of them.  

Most of the time our fight is not against people.  Erwin later said, “A Warrior fights with all his might for Peace.”  There is a Beautiful Wonder of knowing the reality that God is Good!  He is the Prince of Peace.  Could it be said of you, “I have fought a Good Fight, and laid up for me is a Crown of Righteousness?”

Where's God in My Struggle?

Where’s the last place you experienced Jesus? 

Carol and I are watching The Chosen, which is a series of the life of Jesus.  Last night we watched episode 7 where the Woman who has experienced one tragedy and disappointment after another comes to the well to get water.  To her surprise, Jesus is waiting to not only bring healing and help, but the hope of eternal life in Him.

Complicated and difficult situations can bring such stress and anxiety, which has the potential of stealing our sanity.  It’s possible that we know Faith can reconnect us to the power of change, but the present pain is usually so great we reach for some immediate escape.  

I’m captured by the words of the Angel at the tomb after Jesus’ resurrection.  The obvious loss of their normal drives these women back to the place where they left Jesus!  The Angel asks, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”  I wonder how many times difficulty forces us to run back to the place where we left Jesus?

The truth tells us, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,” but can seem so distant, slow and not relevant in a crisis.  If you’re like me, you get up early from a restless night of trying to sleep, and spend time in Scripture.  The Holy Spirit in those times always faithfully delivers direction, stability and revelation.  Have you noticed that this place becomes a waiting room?  The cool thing is God turns it into a preparation room.  Faith prepares us to keep on asking, seeking and knocking.  In it we discover for ourselves what the Angel spoke to the women at the tomb, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He’s not here!”

God is taking you to a New Place!